BellaOnline Forums Religion and Spirituality Atheist Recommended books on atheism / agnosticism

I'm going to try to add a few book reviews to my articles, and I'm interested in what books on atheism, agnosticism, or related topics (and there are plenty of topics that tie into this) you'd either recommend or would be curious to read a book review of. Could you list a few books you've read and would like to recommend or books that you haven't yet read and would like to see reviewed? A brief summary of the book's primary topic, if known, would be appreciated as well.

Thanks!

Sadly, I can't really think of any books to recommend, all the ones I've read have had something so flawed with them that they couldn't really help the atheist case. Well, you might be able to tell us if Camus' L'Etranger is any good in French, the English translation I had to read in high school was terrible. There's always Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead, but again, I doubt that'd win any converts. Maybe Heinlein's The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, or Stranger in a Strange Land?

Ayn Rand? Bleargh. Heinlein? Ok, I could see that.

I find it amusing, however, that when I said "books on atheism," you immediately thought of fiction, whereas I was thinking of non-fiction. Hmm. I wonder if that's indicative of your opinion of atheism in general, or just a coincidence? ;-)

To be honest, I don't know if I've ever read any non-fiction books about/espousing atheism. Then again, would you say there is such a thing as a non-fiction book about religion?

miaow.

I don't think I've heard a cat with a British accent before. I'll reccommend Godless Morality for my book club in August. July's is already picked out, apparently there's a very popular book coming out then. Speaking of which, isn't it interesting how religion is conspicuously absent in the Harry Potter books?

I'm not sure Godless Morality will be one of your book club's favorites if you're reading fiction the rest of the time, although it might generate some interesting conversations if you have a good mix of religious and non-religious people in your group.

Yes, I do think it's very interesting how Rowling pretty much avoids references to religion altogether in the Harry Potter series. There are witches and wizards who believe in various superstitions and myths, but these myths rarely cross over into the territory of worship. Perhaps in an environment where the supernatural is regularly encountered, any supernatural entity that isn't capable of some sort of physical manifestation just isn't terribly convincing.

Is there such a thing as a non-fiction book on religion? Sure! I would include Godless Morality and other books that treat religious institutions as a historical reality among them. As for the Bible, I consider it about as reliable as The DaVinci Code, which is to say, not at all, except for a few peripheral details that provide a sense of verisimilitude and the occasional testimony of a sincere but deluded individual.

The roommate and I are rereading the series in preparation for the last book, I'll have to pay close attention to the department of mysteries. She lists, what? Time, love, death? Nothing about God, although there are explicit references to an afterlife. And as for an entity not being able to manifest, I'd say that's only because she chose to make it so. After all, she's got boggarts, ghost, pixies and whatnot. I don't think there are explicit references to either angels or demons. Nor is she too concerned about identity or the soul. The pictures seem to be self-motivated, with the capablilty (in the paintings at least) of memory and personal development. She sidesteps whether or not this makes them alive, and what rights they might have (are The Fat Lady and Sir Cardogan slaves, like the house elves?)

I really need to get out more.

Every theology textbook ever written in a non-fiction book on religion is it not? But a non-fiction book espousing religion, that has not been written.

How about Richard Dawkins' Unweaving the Rainbow?